MYZONE heart rate tracking has arrived at Third Space. Here we reveal how you can take your training to the next level.
If you’re not tracking your workouts, why not? Just as monitoring your calories is the well-trodden route to dietary success, heart rate is establishing itself as the principle marker for progress in the gym. Working in the correct heart rate zone is the only way to guarantee HIIT training success, while it can also help to keep you in the lower, fat-burning heart rate zone during longer LISS workouts. Either way, whether you’re after fat-burn or fitness, knowledge is power. And the number don’t lie.
Though not all trackers are created equal. While wrist-worn trackers are excellent for noting steps and distances, as well as keeping you hooked up to apps and emails, the heart rate monitor struggles to keep up. When it comes to the lung-searing sprints and gasping rest periods of a fitness class, you need to up your game.
Which is why at Third Space we’ve teamed up with MYZONE and introduced this top-end tech to our signature classes. MYZONE is the premier chest-worn heart rate monitor, which, because it’s positioned directly above the heart, provides the most accurate readings possible. You won’t miss a beat. And more accurate readings mean speedier results.
You Better Strap In
So, what can you expect from this new dynamic duo of London’s fitness scene? The system is simple. The heart rate monitor, attached to an adjustable strap around your chest, connects to the MYZONE app on your phone and specific screens around the Sweat X class.
As you train your effort is displayed through a series of personalised, colour-coded tiles, so you always know precisely what heart-rate zone you are in at any given moment. Blue = rest and recovery, Green = warming up, Yellow = OK, this is getting tough now and Red = OH MY GOD, CAN I STOP YET? Sadly, it’s this red zone that reels in results – and with the MYZONE there’s no way of cheating yourself. You’re going to have to push it.
Test The Best
To put the MYZONE through its paces I took on Sweat X, Third Space’s signature treadmill and conditioning class. As soon as MYZONE picked up my heart rate my data was projected up onto two giant screens surrounding the rig and treadmill area. There is a saying that honest work gives honest results and this has never been truer than with MYZONE.
The first thing that strikes you is just how comfortable the heart rate monitor and strap are. There’s no tightness nor restrictiveness, at all. So, as the treadmills start to turn it’s easy to get up to speed without overthinking it. As the speed increases so does my heart rate and effort level, visualised on the screen in my personal tile alongside the other class members.
Rather than being off-putting, I actually found it forced me to relax and control my breathing as we went through a gruelling hill session with an ever-increasing incline. As we went into the final 30 seconds and my tile showed I was at 90% effort the urge to burst to the finish line was too much to resist and I found the last energy reserves in the tank to finish the set. So far, so sweaty.
As we moved to the floor MYZONE really came into its own. I always struggle to maintain intensity on floor exercises but when you the see the other participants’ tiles flashing red with their output on the screens, even the least competitive of people will be inspired to dig a little deeper and give everything they’ve got. Through burpees, sit ups, thrusters and more, the MYZONE strap remained secure and continuously beamed data to my now red tile, urging me forward as I searched for every last ounce of energy.
In It For The Long Run
The tracking goes beyond an individual workout, too. Speaking to Seb, Fitness and PT manager, he said: “From a trainer’s perspective it’s a no-brainer, our members might only work out with me two days a week, but with MYZONE tracking I can pull up their stats and review what their workouts were like for the three days in between our sessions and ensure they are staying on track and encourage them to keep going.” Accountability, like accuracy, is a guarantee of progress.
So, workout complete and slumped in a sweaty heap under the rig how did MYZONE do? In that workout it was great. I love knowing how hard I am working and can’t wait to see how my performance improves over time. The screen system and app deliver a healthy dose of competition that is guaranteed to take your workout from a 7 to a 10 and leave you exchanging high fives with others in the MYZONE club, knowing you pushed it to the limit. What are you waiting for?
